A variety of dartboard assemblies are known. These assemblies include multi-piece dartboard housings that include features such as automatic score indicators, dart-retentive target plates, different scoring areas and the like. However, it has been discovered that while such housing assemblies are popular for the user there are problems associated with their manufacture, including a time-consuming and complicated process involving the assembly of the numerous individual pieces that structurally comprise the dartboard housing.
One such presently available dartboard housing assembly is shown in Jones U.S. Pat. No. 4,057,251, which illustrates a dartboard having a support plate which is separate from and secures a spider having a circular rim, circumferentially and radially extending ribs, and annular walls and webs that are molded integrally with the ribs. The above-mentioned pieces are assembled to form pie-shaped target segments for the different scoring areas. The spider piece in the Jones patent is thus basically formed from assembling numerous different pieces and positioning them on the support of the housing element. Therefore, the Jones dartboard housing assembly is not molded from a single-piece of material but instead is assembled by integrally connecting a plurality of individual pieces. Such assembly is time consuming and expensive to manufacture.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a dartboard housing assembly having a structure which is molded from a single piece of material.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a dartboard housing that is sturdier and easier to manufacture.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a dartboard housing assembly that expedites the assembly of several pie-shaped target plates comprising interconnected yet independently movable target segments.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a dartboard housing that is less expensive to produce and enables manufacturers to reduce costs incurred in the assembly of the board.